Peanut Sauce

The two biggest words in my life right now: Peanut Sauce.

I went to Northstar on Friday and consumed this:

Buddha bowl. White rice, veggies, chicken, and peanut sauce. I didn't taste the peanut sauce until I hit the bottom under the veggies. And when I did... I instantly wanted to be at home making it. Every day- I am not kidding- every day since then I have been eating peanut sauce whatever. It is Tuesday. Noodles, rice, noodles with mushrooms, rice with veggies, I've been putting it on veggie burgers, falafel, and licking it off of my fingers whenever I can. And it is sooo simple.

I don't have exact measurements, so this is just how I came up with it.

The Req's:

• Rice or noodles
• Veggies if you choose
• A jar of peanut butter- natural is good, too
• Soy sauce
• Pepper
• Sriracha or some kind of hot sauce (if you want spice... it's vary nice)
• Sugar if you'd like a little bit of sweet
• Water or soy milk or milk (for thinning)

The Steps:

1. Picture how much you want. Split it in half. Make one half the amount of peanut butter and the other soy sauce. (Guestimate... just do one part each)
2. Add garlic, sugar, pepper, sriracha, or whatever spices you choose.
3. Put it in a sauce pan, heat it on low heat til the peanut butter combines with everything else. If it needs thinned, slowly add the liquid of your choice. Make it a saucy texture.
4. Pour the sauce over whatever medium of your choice (pasta, chicken, rice, tofu...), mix well if applicable, and enjoy. 

I also chop up cale and put some in with the rice. It's pretty delicious. You could probably also do it with spinach or any other leafy vegetable of your choice. Throw it in right before you add the sauce, giving the leaves a little time to wilt.

Tip: I've found if you try to make a lot with natural peanut butter, the oils separate. Let it cool after combining, and throw it in a blender on the lowest setting for 30 seconds if this happens. 

Basically, you can do whatever you want with this as long as most of it consists of peanut butter and soy sauce. It's delicious. Eat it til you can't eat it no'mo.

This recipe gets a 5/5. Unless you get sick of it super quickly... then it gets knocked down to a 2. 

Coming soon: I promise I WILL post my recipe for my pumpkin puree and cupcakes!

Grilled Cheese w/ Avocado

Remember recently when the avocado craze happened? Avocado is offered everywhere... and I'm glad it is, because 1) avocado gives you over 20 essential nutrients- including Vitamin E, B vitamins, potassium, and fiber 2) thus, they help your heart 3) they are an essential part of guacamole, which I love and 4) It tastes good in general, so why not add it to other tasty things to make it awesome all around?

I haven't made this yet and I must admit I've been doing terrible at raw... so I'll be making it tonight and then I'll post and rate it. I'm quite hopeful for this. I'll be making a version as vegan as I can get with what I have- Avocado, bread, vegan margarine, and veg cheese. So here ya go.

Serves 2 people or 1 really hungry person.
The req's:

• 1 avocado, pitted and sliced
• 4 slices bread of your choice
• cheese- can be vegan, shredded, sliced, or whatever you fancy
• margarine or butter of your choice

The steps:

1. Spread margarine on all 4 slices of bread. 
2. Lay out the cheese and avocado. I like a lot of cheese and this is vegan so I'm probably going to use 2 slices per sandwich. The avocado will go between and the cheese shall be the glue. Genius.
3. Heat the pan. Place the sammich on that pan and let it cook about 2/3 minutes per side... depending on how grilled you want your cheese. Ha ha ha.
4. Put it on a plate. Stare at it. Possibly make a can of soup.
5. Devour.

The results: 
I wasn't able to get photos, but they turned out incredible! One thing was that the avocado was a little bit unripe and so it was still a bit firm when we were eating them... and that wasn't really something I wanted. Next time I'll go for softer avocado, or I'll mush it up and put it on the grilled cheese with a spoon!

I also made it for three people instead of two and used slightly smaller avocados... so two of those worked great.

I'd give it a 3/5... maybe if it was softer and I had some tomato soup as well it would've been perfect. 

A quick one I love...

Tabasco toast. Yes. Can be any tobasco of your choice.

• bread
• margarine/butter/butter substitute 
• tobasco sauce
• toaster/toaster oven

here's a picture from bikeradar that is toast with ham,
cheese and tabasco. 

• toast the bread to your liking
• spread butter or your choice of substitute onto bread
• add sauce
• devour

or:

• toast as directed
• spread butter
• add ham or meat of your choice... maybe even spinach? and cheese
• add tabasco (maybe even sriracha)
• microwave for 35 seconds
• let cool, devour

Delicious. 

Brussel Sprouts

I'm starting the raw diet tomorrow. By no means is this raw, but it's vegetarian at least if you leave out the bacon.  This recipe comes from a website most of you are familiar with, and that's What The Fuck Should I Make For Dinner? This was posted on an interview piece that the today show posted on their website.

When I make this, I'll probably alter the recipe a little bit. I'm a 'po college kid, and I got veggies to spend money on. You can sacrifice the EVOO for a little vegetable oil.

Picture from Today.

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 3 shallots, finely chopped, divided
• 2 teaspoons mustard seed
• 4 ounces bacon, diced
• 1⁄4 cup white wine, preferably Chardonnay
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Preheat your oven to 400°F. 

• Cut sprouts in half, then rinse and peel if you choose. 
• Put them in a low-sided roasting pan and douse in oil, salt, and pepper. 
• Add half of the shallots and the mustard seed. 
• Roast sprouts for about 30 minutes. Pull out when tender and taste good. 
• Get a pan hot over medium-high heat. If you're going to use the bacon, throw that in now. Cook until crisp. Take the bacon out of the pan; reserve fat. 
• Throw the last half of the shallots into the same pan, and turn up the the heat. Sauté in the fat (or butter/oil if you choose to go the vegetarian route) for about 4 minutes, until caramelized. 
• Add the white wine if you choose to use it and Dijon mustard, whisk it to make a dressing. 
• Cover the Brussels sprouts with the sauce in the pan, add the bacon and eat it while picturing Tom Cruise playing volleyball.

I summed it up a little better, but I figured I'd leave the Tom Cruise remark in there... it's perfect.

Okay. How awesome is this?

Photo from quick-dish.

What the heck is that?
It's hot dogs with un-cooked spaghetti noodles in them!

quick-dish.

Maybe when I cheat I can make some variation of this with cheese? It'd be like mac n cheese but way more fun! I can't wait. I'm also noticing that I'm looking forward to when I cheat way more than this raw diet... but I'll be posting those raw recipes, too :)

-xo, Steph